Burnout Among Social Media Managers: Faculty Research Highlights the Reality of Always‑On Work

In this episode of Speaking Of… College of Charleston, College of Charleston marketing professor Kelley Cours Anderson discusses her latest research on burnout among social media managers and the pressures shaping digital marketing careers. The work, recently published in The Conversation as The hidden burnout crisis facing social media marketers, traces its origins to a student project in Anderson’s social media class. The alumna’s bachelor’s essay on social media wellness helped identify the early themes that informed Anderson’s research.

As Anderson and her co-authors write in The Conversation, “For the people who run brand accounts on social media, the workday never really ends.”

Drawing on interviews with industry professionals, Anderson explains how constant content demands, real-time engagement and the expectation to monitor trends make it difficult for social media managers to fully disconnect. Many spend significant portions of their day on social platforms, blurring the line between work and personal time. 

The conversation also explores the realities behind what is often seen as an entry-level role. Social media managers are responsible for a wide range of tasks, including content creation, brand voice, analytics, customer service and crisis communication, often with limited support. 

Anderson shares what students and aspiring professionals should understand before entering the field, including the importance of setting boundaries, managing expectations and developing both creative and analytical skills. 

Beyond the workplace, the episode highlights the often-invisible labor behind social media and encourages listeners to better understand the human impact of managing the digital spaces people use every day.

Key Topics

• Burnout among social media managers
• Digital marketing careers
• Always-on work culture
• Social media job expectations
• Digital wellbeing

Resources

• [Dis]Connect Collective 
• AIC (American Influencer Council)
• Academic Article that The Conversation article is based upon.
• CofC + Global Day of Unplugging - CofC Unplug Week this Fall will be the last week of September 28th
• We will screen Your Attention Please (date tbd - aiming for Mid-September)
• Recommend Summer Reading List:
• Attensity by The Friends of Attention
• Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
• How to do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Transcript

Kelley Cours Anderson Interview

Amy: Welcome to Speaking of College of Charleston. Today, we're talking about burnout in the world of social media, especially for the people behind the accounts we scroll through every day. From constant content demands to the pressure of being always on, it's a job that looks creative and exciting on the surface but can come with real challenges behind the scenes.

Our guest today is Kelley Cours Anderson, assistant professor of marketing at the college, whose latest research explores what's driving social media burnout and what it reveals about work in the always-on digital world. Kelley, welcome to Speaking Of…College of Charleston. Thanks for having me. Um, so we're gonna jump right in with the questions.

What, what ... First off, what made you start looking into social media manager burnout, and why is it such a big issue right now? 

Kelley: Yeah. I mean, overall it really bridges back to just our cultural need to look into digital wellbeing and social media wellbeing, which is something I've been researching with colleagues for years now.

Um, and we're probably talking six plus years at this stage. Um, but this particular project actually came from a student. Oh, really? Yeah. So, uh, Kylie Pettit is one of our alumni. She now is a digital nomad, does social media and digital marketing for a living. Travels the globe. But before she graduated, she had to complete a bachelor essay.

She was one of my students in my social media class, which we'll talk a little bit more about later on. But that class, um, I talk about social media wellness, and, uh, we take time and space for that. Um, and when she needed to write her bachelor essay, she came to me and said, "I wanna write about this.

This is what I wanna do my project on." She went on an incredible internship in Italy. Um, came back and said- Okay, you threw that term out there. Now I understand it- Yeah ... around this social media marketing burnout, and that's what I wanna do my research on. So she was the driver- Huh ... of this project. Um, we got it published with her in an academic article.

Oh, she's one of the three, okay. She is one of the four. Four, okay. Um, as a... Unfortunately, with, uh, you know, you have to have an academic institution association for The Conversation. Right. Otherwise, she would've been on that paper- Right, got it ... as well. Um, but yes, the academic journal itself, she is, uh, first author on that.

This is her baby- Yeah ... and we are here to support it, 'cause this is something we're all passionate about as well. We have such fantastic alumni. W- really do. 

Amy: And I should've said from the beginning, we are talking about this because your article for The Conversation is about to be published. Correct.and they've done really well. And, um, The Conversation is a great platform to get our faculty's research out there to the, a much wider world. Yeah, grateful for it. Um, yeah, so you write about, I wanna talk about, you- you- you write about the always on nature of social media jobs. What does that pressure actually look like- Hmm in someone's day-to-day life? 

Kelley: Yeah, so I mean, we probably feel a little bit of this every day. You know, and anyone who's in journalism gets this as well. You know, marketers and journalists, we're all kind of similar in that we are constantly on the search for the next project, constantly thinking about it, and I think anyone who's just passionate about their jobs probably can have some empathy for this too.

But when we're thinking about a social media marketing manager, that means that they are on social media, on this algorithm-fed content spool all the time. So imagine waking up and your phone is buzzing, and then that is your first... You s- you're not even at work yet, but you're on. And so y- it starts before the day begins.

If you're lucky enough to have a 9 to 5, let's be real, 9 to 6 or 8 to 6 or 7 day, you know, you're on social media during that time period, and then you come home, and then you're on again. And so what we're seeing a lot of is, you know, it's, an everyday consumer might be spending two to three hours on social media.

These individuals are spending eight to 12 hours a day- Yeah ... on social media. Yeah. And that's, uh, just, it, it truly is, you cannot disconnect, and this leads to this idea of- Ultimately, you go home and you're doing it for your own personal benefit, but at the end of the day, you're still constantly what we call, um, you- you're familiar with social comparison.

This is a human nature thing. Well, now you bring it to the business sense and you're a social competitor comparison, right? Oh. So you're constantly looking at other people's stories and seeing, what are they doing? How could I make my content even better? And it, it just is, it's, it's a spool. Um, and it's a har- it's a hamster wheel that's really hard to get off of until you just break down and it leads to burnout.

Amy: And also, I'm just thinking about our own social media team. Um, uh, also, it, part of y- many people's jobs, I would think, is you, you have to be on past 5 or 6 in the even- because to monitor potential emergency situations- You got it ... or, you know, potential, I mean, the, the variety is, is wide. But to keep your eye out to make sure there's nothing coming up that needs to be addressed.

Kelley: Yeah, absolutely. And then I know we saw it as well if, you know, I worked, um, before coming to the college, I was in industry for a long time, and I worked at Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas. And we had a team of people, right? So they could actually be off, and then other people could step in. Yeah. Yeah. And the reality is, the majority of social media marketing managers don't have that luxury.

They are usually a one-person team. Right. Exactly. Um, maybe even if three, but that means someone has to monitor after hours- Right ... on the weekends, um, especially depending on what industry you're in. And so that always on perpetuates from that, too. Right. Yeah. I bet you must have interesting stories from that job.

Amy: Yeah. I'm sure. Um, so, uh, speaking of students, a lot of people want to work in social media. What do you wish they understood- Mm ... about the realities of the job before they get into it? 

Kelley: Yeah. I am... It's one of those, you know, I teach social media marketing managing, or teach social media marketing, and so for those students coming in, a lot of it is about trying to uncover, you know, and make it, make it realistic.

And so there's a few different things, obviously related to this, is around wellbeing, right? And that is something that sinks into my classes, outside of my classes. We have, we, we have content that we dive deep into that as well. Um, but it is understanding how to create that balance, how to create, um, expectations for yourself, as well as set expectations up and outward so that you don't run into burnout.

And so this burnout phenomenon is a really big piece of that, but that's not the only thing. A lot of it, um, I think that's surprising for many students, is how analytical it is. Right. Yeah. In order to be successful- Right ... in this, um, industry, you really, you have to be comfortable with numbers- Yeah ... at least a little bit.

Yeah. And AI's making it a lot easier. Yeah. But it is, it is a- Huge part of the job, yeah ... it's a huge part of the job. Yeah. And, and being willing to test things- Right ... and, um, compare and try different things out, and so, um, that's a big component. But, uh, the other piece of it, which actually does fall back into this piece, is there are a lot of hats, you know?

Yeah. One of the things many people don't realize, and even outside of marketing people don't realize this, is as a social media manager- Many times you are hired as an entry level, or let's be real, even before entry level, right, type of position. I know high schoolers that get these jobs. That means you have someone who is in charge of your brand identity.

Yeah. Right? So they have to know how to communicate on behalf of your brand in one of the most visible places. So that's a lot of pressure on its own. You are creating content, you are managing things, you're creating campaigns, you're, um, uh, you're ultimately having... So the manager role, which was funny, it came up in this study too- Yeah

is many people were like, "I don't even know if this is the right t- title, 'cause I'm not managing people." But you wear- Um, yeah ... so many hats, it is a manager role. That's interesting. It's just not necessarily, most people don't realize the expectations that are embedded in this type of position. And so their skills have to be broader as a result.

Right. Um, you might be lucky. Some people do get into roles where I get to just do customer service portion- Right ... of social media, and I only have to do the content creation. But the realities of a true social media marketing manager is much broader. Crisis management, uh, the list goes on. Right. So we actually have a visual in the academic paper that shows all of the different roles that these individuals typically have to have.

Amy: Oh, I'd like to include that in the show notes- Yeah, that'd be great ... so everybody can see that. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, um, it r- uh, uh, uh, maybe this is changing, I didn't have that question prepared, but I, I wonder if, because I, I think, like you say, a lot of people have maybe one social media person- Hmm ... if they're a larger company, several.

But I, I feel like the, the position isn't totally valued in the industry yet, and it, so it usually does- Yeah ... fall to a very small team. Yes. And, and there may be- ... the pay out of w- I don't, we don't need to go on a tangent, but maybe the [00:10:00] pay- Hmm ... isn't as great. Yeah. And they're expected to wear a lot of hats.

And, um, m- hopefully that's changing and where people are seeing the value of social media- Um ... those roles. 

Kelley: You'd be surprised. Yeah. Yeah. It, I mean, unfortunately I'm not s- sure I'm seeing much of that change- Really? ... yet. I think we might. I mean, I'm finally seeing, I was excited a couple years ago to, a- and it sounds silly, but McDonald's was hiring a VP of marketing and influencer, or social media marketing and influencer- Wow

um, marketing. And that's phenomenal, 'cause it shows that there's some legitimacy. But the majority of social media managers we chatted with are not finding that. Right. Right? Right. And so many times that's what leads... So our informants, a lot of them, were saying that they don't have, um, they don't have- The confidence in, from their management.

The expectations, I know I've had a lot of students come back and tell me stories of, "I got this job, and basically the only expectation was that I make things viral." Right, right, right. So I'm here to say that's just not how it works. No, exactly. That's not how it works. But that is so, so many people's expectations of- Mm-hmm

Amy: the, and, and they don't, and then you show the metrics to, to show what you've built, but, and they don't really, a lot of higher-ups don't really understand the metrics. Right. Right. So yeah. The, all they want is, yeah, go viral. Go viral. Good luck with that. 'Cause that's, that, that's what that means. 

Kelley: Yeah. So you're spot on, and we write about it in the paper and not as much on the conversation piece.

Um, but the academic article, we, we dive into that a bit around the systems are just not set up- Huh ... to really support these, um, individuals yet. Right. Yeah. 

Amy: Um, I wanna get back to, y- well, you touched on this a little bit before, but, um- Your, your research suggests that people can't log off to fix this problem.

Mm-hmm. So what does help for individuals or organizations? And you talked about this- Yeah ... a little, but I would, I'd love to hear more to offer some- Yeah ... some positivity, some help, something. 

Kelley: Yeah. I, and well, and there's multiple facets, and, you know, we bucket it into three pieces for the larger piece, but what you'll see in the conversation is a couple of them.

So there's certain things that you can do individually, right? So it's recognizing how to set boundaries, establishing boundaries. This is actually a great tool for any recent grad, right? For any of our upperclassmen, for them to learn, is to learn how to set expectations and to communicate. Um, and of course, that's easier said than done- Right

depending on your managers, but that is a huge piece of it. So if you're setting those expectations early, um, that usually can make a lot of, uh, it can help a ton, right? And the other piece is we talk about how technology can be utilized. So obviously, AI is out there. There's some, you know, it's also creating new challenges, but we recommend using AI to help with things, like creating a content calendar, recognizing when those crises need to be, um, identified versus feeling like you have to always be on.

Use it for more of the efficiency and those things, not necessarily in lieu of creativity. Right, right, right. We're seeing a ton of consumer pushback there, so I don't think it's a really good substitute on that front. I- obviously, people are using it. We really are. 

Amy: Talk a little bit more 'cause I think that's fascinating- Yeah

the consumer pushback. So like- 

Kelley: Yeah ... people want authentic- They absolutely want authentic conversation, which is a lot of why I spend, I know in my classroom, we talk a lot about, um, organic- Yeah ... and community-building. Right. And that's what consumers are looking for. That was the origination and the goals out of social media, is to create connection.

Right. But we see with algorithms these days, that's not really what's happened, and so many times what we now are being... Well, and I have other work that we're talking about. You know, we're, we're now commodified. We're, you know, it's really about our attention as a consumer, right? Right. And so consumers are recognizing this.

They're pushing back on this, which I think is a very healthy place to be. I do too. Um, so the, the chase for the dollar, the chase for the like is not necessarily gonna be the- AI is not gonna substitute for that. What we're n- we're seeing, especially in Gen Z and our students, and m- even young Millennials, I would say, can spot AI from a mile away.

Amy: Oh, yeah. Right? They say that to me all the time. I'll send them something and they're like, "Ugh, Mom." "That is so clearly AI." Yeah. But I, how, how do you know? Yeah. It's good. Yeah, they're done with the AI slop. 

Kelley: Yeah. So content needs to be real, it needs to be rough. You even see it to a point where brands are trying to emulate- Right

what feels authentic- I'm not buying it, I know ... even though it's scripted, right? I know, yeah. So, um, which makes it really challenging- Yeah ... uh, to differentiate as a consumer and then as a brand to know what to do. But where I think social media has a lot of promise and still some benefit is to create connections so that people can then be able to connect in person later on. 

Yes. Right? And so that's a lot of what, if you want your brand to be identified, use it as a conduit, not as the only tool. Yeah. And so- I like that, yeah ... that, again, lends back to this idea of wellbeing, right? Right. We, we, finding that right balance with technology, um, is a big piece of that. Yeah. Um, and then you asked about, you know, other things that help.

Right. At the end of the day, we wanna see more done to help educate the higher-ups. Right. Right? And, and there are good groups. The AIC, um, is an influencer council, right? We need that for social media marketing management as well. Yeah. You know, really understanding, um, what are the, what's the education these managers need?

Um, what are the education and the tools that hiring managers and executives need to be able to support these people- Right ... in their jobs? Um, that is where I'm passionate and hope to- 

Amy: Because you said in your article, I don't think we said this yet, but didn't you, you stayed, cited a statistic- Mm-hmm ... about burnout rate. Oh. The rate is really high, right? 

Kelley: It's really high, yeah, 40% of social media marketing managers are looking to get out of the profession- Yeah ... in the next year. 40%, wow. 40%, and then we dived deeper, half of those- And then it means that, you know, none of us know how to do their job, so we're like- Right ... you know, uh, then you're, you're scrambling.

Yes. Yeah. Exactly, and then it takes forever for someone to come on and get onboarded- Yeah ... and that's expensive. Yeah. Right? After a while- And didn't you also find that it was, like, the typical, um, time was about two years? Yeah, it's pretty low. Yeah. It's very low. Um, it ends up being this entry-level job, and I used to sell it that way- Yeah

right? To many students, this is a great entry-level job so that you can kind of climb the ladder and- Right ... maybe go a different direction, even if you don't wanna stay in social media. Well, half of those people are getting out of marketing altogether. Yeah, really. Which is not really where we want to s- No

you know, it's not- Yeah ... it's not the best entry point anymore, and when it could be. Yeah. It's still really, it really could be. Yeah. Mm. And it's all changing so fast It is changing so fast 

Amy: So, but why, why should people outside of, of ... You and I are in the marketing world Mm-hmm But why should people outside of marketing care about this?

Kelley: What, what does burnout tell us about our broader relationship with technology? Mm. I mean, it's, it's obvious, but- Mm-hmm ... but what else can we discern from these, from- Yeah ... these findings? Yeah. I mean, I think we tackled some of those, where this is, you know, if you are not in marketing, but in a business position or any other hiring position, it's expensive to help with this turnover, help with mental health.

Um, this is a, a real challenge where it's- 'Cause it really isn't just social media manager burnout. I mean- Mm-hmm ... this kind of burnout- This phenomenon is much broader ... I'm thinking just, y- yeah, everybody's daily usage- Yeah ... burnout, yeah. Absolutely. And so some of our work before this piece was just on social media wellness- Yeah

and recognizing that as an everyday consumer, we get burned out. Right. And so I think that's, that's the important piece to keep in mind as well, [00:18:00] is, uh, it's not just when you're consuming. So if you're a consumer, right, and you're thi- you're going through your feed, and you're going through this content- I would hope that something like this actually creates some additional empathy for the people who are putting this together.

Right. Right? So what are they going through? Um, you know, many times we see, um, comments that come through different things, and they for- and it, it's, it's an everyday phenomenon of social media- Right ... but you forget there's a human on the other side. Right, right. And so, um, hopefully this piece starts to help build that bridge, build that empathy- Yeah

for recognizing this work. And, and a lot of it's very invisible- Right ... work. Yes, that's a good point. The invisible labor that happens- Right ... um, and is highly un- underappreciated in their position, right? Right. And as well as out of their position. Yeah. So many of our, going back to what we were starting to talk about earlier, many of our informants actually said they w- they were embarrassed to tell people what their job was.

What they did. Really? Because people don't see it as a real job. Right. When it's actually- And there's not a lot of respect for that work. Not at all. 

Amy: Yeah. I, I meant to ask you about that. Where it ... Did you, was this, like, a survey? Or how did you- Mm ... reach out to people? Who were you talking to to get all this?

Kelley: Yeah. This was qualitative, so it was interviews- Okay ... with, um, active social media marketing managers. Yeah. Um, and then we did additional rounds later on with groups of people just to see- And this isn't higher ed. This was- No. No. No, not higher ed. Yeah. Um, usually broader. Many people, it was really fascinating 'cause we got to follow some of these individuals a little bit over time and to see their career path- Yeah

or have them reflect on their career path, where they started, as, you know, maybe working for a small business, and then ultimately moved into leading their own group. Right. They, they realized they weren't being respected in their positions. Yeah, yeah. So now you've got some really great little agencies and consulting groups around this, and I think we're going to continue to see some of that.

Yeah. And I think that's gonna help solve, hopefully that'll help solve some of that, where you at least have teams, um, these agency teams that are helping to facilitate it, that can manage it within- Yeah ... um, that have a full understanding- The team ... of the work. The team. The team work. Yes, a team. The team.

Yeah. Um, and that makes it, it makes a big difference. Yeah. 

Amy: Well, I think it's fantastic that you're doing this work that is extremely relevant, and I'm s- and I'm sure it, it's always changing, and I'm sure you're very busy with your research trying to stay on top of it. And you ha- you're talking to students every day.

So, um, thank you for coming in and talking to us about your work, and I'll include a link to Kelly's article in the conversation in the show notes, as well as any other information that we talked about, um, in our interview. I'll put that in our show notes. Um, so thank you, Kelly. Thanks for having me. Um, thank you all for listening to this episode of Speaking of College of Charleston with Kelly Korz Anderson.

If you like the episode, please help us reach more audiences by sharing it with a friend or leaving a review. And as I said, for show notes, you can visit the College of Charleston's news site, The College Today, at today.charleston.edu, and you can find episodes on all major podcast platforms. And if you're curious to know more, go to charleston.edu.